


autumn breeze

by ShowMeAHero



Category: IT (1990), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Amputee Eddie Kaspbrak, Autumn, Babies, Curtain Fic, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family, Fluff, Humor, Kid Fic, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:35:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26652265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShowMeAHero/pseuds/ShowMeAHero
Summary: “Look at that.”“That’s a cool-looking leaf, Eds,” Richie tells him. He doesn’t even sound patronizing, just genuine. Eddie appreciates him for that.“I mean that it’s her first,” Eddie points out. Richie laughs, looking back up towards the falling leaf, spinning on the breeze. “Thanks for indulging me, though.”“Your leaf is my life,” Richie says.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 19
Kudos: 78
Collections: it (1990) one-shots





	autumn breeze

**Author's Note:**

> written based off a prompt i got on tumblr that read: _"for prompts; can we get another fic with Dani where Richie and Eddie take her out for a walk?[just something nice? or to a park"](https://andillwriteyouatragedy.tumblr.com/post/630266411427692544/for-prompts-can-we-get-another-fic-with-dani)_

Eddie balances Dani in the crook of his arm, reaching out with just his fingertips to tug open one of the drawers in the nursery’s dresser.

“What do you think?” Eddie asks quietly. He pulls loose a pink hat and offers it to her, but she doesn’t reach for it. With a contemplative hum, Eddie sets the pink hat back in the drawer, then withdraws a yellow hat instead. This one, she reaches for, hooking her fingers in the fold. “Oh, you like this one, hm?”

Dani just keeps pulling on the hat, wrapping her fingers up in it and pulling until Eddie releases it. He keeps humming to her, keeping her carefully tucked in the inside of his elbow as he keeps digging through her dresser drawers, pulling out a onesie for her, a pair of pants, a tiny pair of socks. Everything he pulls out, he passes to her, draping over her legs, where he can reach. She pulls her socks up to her face, and he  _ tsks  _ at her, clicking his tongue.

“No, honey,” he says. He easily slides her out of his arm, onto her back on her dressing table. She throws her clothes off to the side of herself, but her strength’s pretty much nonexistent, and it all just hits the table beside her.

“Hey, is it cold outside?” Richie shouts from their bedroom down the hall.

Dani jerks her head to the side, looking to the door, waiting for Richie to come through it. Eddie smiles down at her as he calls back, “You’ll need a jacket!”

“Thank you!” Richie calls. Dani whines, and Eddie lightly tickles her bare belly before pulling her onesie over her head.

“I know,” Eddie says to her. “Tragedy of tragedies, that you can’t be glued to his hip. I know how much you’d enjoy that.”

Dani fights him for a second when Eddie has to pull her arms through her short sleeves, but she ultimately lets him do it. She does try to grab on tight to his thumb, but he just kisses the back of her hand and pries her off, smoothly snapping her onesie shut before she could grab onto his hand again.

“I wonder if you’ll get to see any nice leaves today,” Eddie thinks out loud to her. “Your dad said he saw some red and orange trees on his drive to see your uncles the other day. I bet we could find you some nice leaves to press—”

Dani cuts him off with a delighted shriek when he tugs her soft pants up. He catches her ankle in his hand and kisses her foot before tugging one sock on, then the other. “There you go, how’s that?”

She doesn’t answer, but she does let him tug her hat on over her hair. The thick curls spill out from under the edge in a strawberry-blonde wave that he has to tuck to the side, out of her eyes, held back by the hat.

“That’s better,” Eddie tells her, smoothing the last strands of hair back with the edge of his thumb. She turns her face into his hand, so he taps her nose with his fingertip before withdrawing to scoop her up into the inside of his elbow again. “Why don’t we go find your dad, see if he’s managed to dress himself yet?”

_ “Hey,” _ Richie says from the doorway. Eddie can’t help the grin that spreads across his face as he lifts his head; Richie takes two more steps in so he can kiss Eddie with a smile of his own. “I’ll have you know, I broke my own record. It only took me four hours to put a pair of pants on.”

“You never fail to impress me,” Eddie tells him. Richie kisses his cheek, and Eddie beams. “She’ll be all set to go soon, she just needs a pair of shoes and a jacket. And maybe a scarf—”

“It can’t be  _ that  _ cold, can it?” Richie asks. “Do y’think she’ll freeze up? Turn into a popsicle—”

_ “Richie,”  _ Eddie laughs. “At least get her blanket for me, please.”

“Which one?” Richie asks, already heading for the trunk beside Dani’s crib.

“The dark green one, please, with the little—” Eddie wiggles his fingers, and Dani contorts herself to grab onto them. With a laugh, Eddie slips his fingers free and says, “You know, the little— the little doodads on them?”

“This?” Richie asks, spreading a blanket open wide with his arms. When Eddie nods, Richie gathers his hands up in the middle of the blanket, spreading his fingers and holding it out for Eddie to set Dani in. Richie wraps her up easily, swaddling her until she’s all trapped, beaming happily up at them from her wrappings.

“Oh, isn’t that much better?” Eddie asks her softly. Richie passes her back over to him. “Now you don’t even need to wear shoes. You can just keep yourself right all in there. Aren’t you cozy?”

“Do you want your boots?” Richie asks. Eddie nods, tipping his head up to accept the kiss Richie gives him as he passes by. It’s not long before he’s back and kneeling down in front of Eddie to help him into his shoes. Eddie’s slowly been working on regaining a sense of balance, but Richie still holds him steady with one hand as he tugs his boots on and ties them up for him.

“Thank you,” Eddie says, and Richie presses a kiss to the inside of Eddie’s thigh, warm even through the soft material of Eddie’s pants.

“Anytime, Spaghetti Man,” Richie tells him. He hauls himself up to his feet and pulls Eddie in for a loud, smacking kiss. “Now, will you allow me to escort you both,  _ monsieur?” _

“You’re such a cheeseball,” Eddie says. Not scolding, just delighted. Richie throws his arm across Eddie’s shoulder.

“That’s not a no,” Richie points out. “You know, Eds, I’d love to be your escort—”

“Oh,  _ Richie,”  _ Eddie says.

“—But I’m very much in love with the guy waiting for me at home,” Richie continues. He flips his car keys up into his palm when they pass the table by their front door, whistling as he tucks them into his pocket. “Sorry to say, pal, but I’m very much in love.”

“Oh, yeah?” Eddie asks. He was right about the weather outside; it’s chilly, but with just enough of a bite to the air that he’s glad they swaddled Dani.

_ “Oh,  _ yeah,” Richie echoes, but with such lecherous added emphasis that Eddie can’t help but laugh.

“Where did— Aw,” Eddie cuts himself off. An orange leaf is falling, just ahead of them on the sidewalk, from one of their neighbor’s trees. “Look at that.”

“That’s a cool-looking leaf, Eds,” Richie tells him. He doesn’t even sound patronizing, just genuine. Eddie appreciates him for that.

“I mean that it’s her first,” Eddie points out. Richie laughs, looking back up towards the falling leaf, spinning on the breeze. “Thanks for indulging me, though.”

“Your leaf is my life,” Richie says. He jogs ahead a couple of steps, stops, then hops into the air to catch the leaf between his fingertips. When he returns to Eddie and Dani, he presents the leaf to her with a dramatic flourish. “A bouquet for you, babygirl.”

Dani grabs the leaf in her fist and crunches it to bits. When she opens up her fingers and sees the dry fragments of leaves, she frowns, holding her hand up to Richie. He blows them off and kisses her palm.

“How’s that, honey?” Eddie asks.

“Oh, she’s much better now, isn’t she?” Richie asks. He ducks down into Dani’s face and asks, “Aren’t ya, baby? You are just as happy as a clam, just a  _ happy  _ little baby, all smiles. All smiles! Look at you!”

Eddie laughs, and laughs even harder when Richie swings them both into his arms, turning them around in place on the sidewalk. With his arms draped across Eddie’s shoulders and Dani pressed between their chests, Richie looks just as happy as he proclaims Dani to be. All smiles.

“How about,” Richie suggests, voice low, suggestive, grinning, “you and I go get us a couple of coffees, we sit down, we ogle at passers-by, and we enjoy a nice fall morning together. All together, as a family. How’s that?”

Eddie’s insides go all warm and he says, “That sounds wonderful, Rich.” He accepts the kiss that Richie gives him, deepening the kiss so he can lick slowly along Richie’s tongue, dragging himself into his mouth, then out. When they pull apart, he adds, “Except I still can’t have coffee.”

“Oh, I’ll find you something sweet,” Richie murmurs, kissing the point of his chin before sliding his hands down Eddie’s chest. He stops and cups Dani’s face in one palm, kissing her on the forehead, right between the eyes. She coos and reaches for him, and Richie kisses her cheek again before pulling away.

When they’re apart, Richie slings his arm across Eddie’s shoulders again, drawing him tight into his side. They don’t live far from the center of town, here in the suburbs outside the city, and it’s a nice, leisurely walk in the autumn chill and breeze. They walk familiar pathways and streets, turning left and then right at the ends of roads to bring themselves to the heart of town. When Eddie was a child, he’d seen places like this in movies — movies where there’s a good, wholesome message at the end, sometimes, or in the beginnings of horror movies, before everything goes awry. It’s the perfect place outside places, where everything is, somehow, completely okay.

The breeze ruffles Eddie’s hair. He’s glad for the hat on Dani’s head, happy he thought of it, to keep her safe and warm. Richie ruffles Eddie’s hair next, threading his fingers through it and holding on tight when he kisses Eddie’s cheek.

“How about Millie’s?” Richie asks. The coffee shop isn’t too deep into town, and Eddie turns into Richie, smiling. Richie kisses him again.

“Sounds good,” Eddie agrees.

Richie turns Eddie again, back towards the sidewalk and into the center of town. He guides him past wrought iron fences and beautiful houses, crisp dying grass, falling orange leaves, sweet icy breeze. They swing a right on Hawthorne Avenue, and Millie’s is just up ahead, a nice little place in a nice little town.

“Why don’t you find a nice place to sit?” Richie suggests. “I’ll go get us something hot to drink.”

“Alright,” Eddie says, and Richie kisses the dimple of his cheek before he vanishes inside. Eddie bounces Dani against his side, humming softly to her and himself as he looks for a spot to sit outside. Most seats are taken, but there’s a bench towards the edge of the shop’s patio, once near its small garden and with a tiny round table at its side. Eddie commandeers it quick, before anyone else can, sits himself in the middle and settles Dani up against his shoulder.

“And look at that view,” Eddie murmurs, turning Dani around so she can rest easy, propped up and supported, his hand holding her fast, fingers wrapped around the bundle of her little baby body. He squeezes one chunky leg through her clothes and blankets, and she laughs. With a smile, he kisses her cheek. “Even better.”

Dani makes noises that are essentially sighs and burbles. Nothing of substance, but when she coos, Eddie says, “Oh, I think so, too, honey,” and she laughs. It makes Eddie’s heart race whenever he hears her laugh, more and more often every day. Usually, it’s at something Richie’s said or done. He knows he’s in for quite a ride when Dani’s old enough to join in with his nonsense.

“Alright, let’s see here,” Richie announces, dropping himself down on the bench beside Eddie like a wrecking ball. “I’ve got one hot coffee, one hot chocolate, and  _ one,”  _ Richie says, “warm little cup of water for  _ you,  _ Dani, light of my life, because if I gave  _ you  _ coffee, your little body would just—” Richie makes an exploding noise with his mouth, and Eddie huffs a laugh. “And nobody wants that, now, do we?”

Richie scoops Dani up and off of Eddie’s lap, taking her into his own and setting her against his shoulder. He turns Eddie’s hot chocolate over to him, so Eddie can wrap his fingers around it and keep his hand warm. Instead of drinking his own coffee, Richie abandons his cup and turns to Dani instead, her warm water in hand.

“Oh, here you go, Little Miss Professional,” Richie murmurs. With a smile so genuinely, warmly  _ happy  _ that Eddie can’t stop watching him, Richie tips the cup up to Dani’s mouth so she can drink. He assists her in one sip at a time, even though she does a terrible job. It’s not something she’s any good at yet — they’ve only just started trying to teach her — but Eddie thinks he enjoys it more for how much Richie laughs at the mess she makes of it.

Eddie relaxes into Richie’s side, hooking his chin over Richie’s arm, leaning his head onto his shoulder until he can just slump there, propped up by him. He sips his hot chocolate, the chill autumn breeze brushing against his face, the late morning sun casting a glow over the patio gardens as he watches Dani. Richie drops his cheek against Eddie’s hair. Eddie can feel the curve of his smile pressed into the crown of his head.

“Oh, there you go,” Richie murmurs, more to Dani than himself or Eddie, and Eddie closes his eyes, warm and content.

**Author's Note:**

> You can (and should!) come chat with me on Twitter at [@nicole__mello](https://twitter.com/nicole__mello) and/or on Tumblr at [andillwriteyouatragedy](http://andillwriteyouatragedy.tumblr.com/).


End file.
